Windows system broken

Computing

Published 5:30 am, Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Microsoft's latest operating system has taken it on the chin lately. It seems Windows Vista has become the software version of the kid always picked last for schoolyard sports.

Consider these developments:

• Jim Louderback, who recently left as executive editor of PC Magazine, wrote in his departure column that he really doesn't like Windows Vista that much. "Maybe it was something in the water?" he said. "I've been a big proponent of the new OS over the past few months, even going so far as loading it onto most of my computers and spending hours tweaking and optimizing it. So why, nine months after launch, am I so frustrated? The litany of what doesn't work and what still frustrates me stretches on endlessly."

• As is usually the case with a new version of Windows, the major PC makers all switched to offering only Vista on their new computers almost as soon as it was available. Now, because of customer demand, most of them are offering a downgrade to Windows XP on their Web-based configurators, or they continue to offer XP in their sites' small/home business areas.

• Tech Web sites are increasingly peppered with blog posts in which the writer declares he or she is returning to XP out of frustration.

• And, in perhaps the unkindest cut of all, some are referring to Windows Vista as Windows ME 2, likening it to what's considered the worst Microsoft operating system of all time.

Still, Windows Vista is a sales success in spite of all the negative buzz. Microsoft says it has sold more than 60 million licenses for Vista since it launched for businesses in November, and consumers in January. However, the company doesn't break down those numbers. Most come from sales of new PCs with Vista already installed. It may include sales to resellers and businesses. It doesn't mean people are lined up to buy Vista at the neighborhood computer store.

As I wrote in May (see www.chron.com/novista), one of the biggest issues with Vista — and with any new Windows operating system — are drivers. Add to that programs that are incompatible and the usual set of bugs that come with any new OS release, and you can see why people are frustrated.

But I think there's a much bigger dilemma here. Vista's woes are just a symptom of an overarching crisis. Basically, the Windows ecosystem is broken.

Strengths are weaknesses

This is a tremendous issue, because it is the ecosystem surrounding Windows — the vendors that make hardware that rely on it, the software developers who make programs that run on it and the computer makers who sell it all as a package — that has driven Microsoft's success. The ecosystem has become horribly complex over time, to the point that it's collapsing of its own weight.

Here's how it's supposed to work:

Windows, although a proprietary operating system, is the hub of an open computing system. Anyone can build a computer that runs it, using off-the-shelf parts. Any hardware vendor can make components for it. And software vendors have access to the Windows Application Programming Interface, or API, and can write programs that run on it.

This open system has worked well so far; it's what has driven the growth of the personal computing industry for decades. The opportunity for anyone to enter the market has driven prices down and innovation up, and consumers have benefited. It's why Windows has a market share that dwarfs those of all other operating systems.

But its strengths are also its weaknesses. The ecosystem has two huge drawbacks.

The first is Microsoft's promise to make each generation of Windows compatible with as many products designed for previous generations as possible. It's why many components and programs made for Windows 98 — and some even for Windows 95 and 3.1 — still run on Windows XP and Vista.

The compatibility promise is very hard to keep. Ensuring that legacy code and hardware still works on the latest version of Windows gets harder with each successive version, and it's a big reason why Windows is so horribly bloated. It also introduces instability, which becomes a security risk for network-connected machines.

The second vulnerability is the growing number of products produced to run on Windows. There are several times more printers, scanners, mice, monitors, video cards, audio adapters, Wi-Fi cards, etc., available now than there were when Windows XP came out. People are still using them, and they expect them to work with Windows Vista!

With each successive version of Windows, hardware makers and developers must decide whether to support their older products on the new operating system. They can throw resources at writing drivers for hardware and patches for software, but as time goes on, they have more and more legacy products in the mix. At some point, they have to abandon older products, angering consumers who suddenly find the hardware and software they own no longer works.

Add to that PC makers bogging down their consumer machines with junkware, much of which runs in the background, and hurts performance.

Apple's example

I think Microsoft needs to do what Apple periodically does — start over from scratch. I'd like to see Microsoft develop an entirely new operating system that isn't based on past versions of Windows. It should be built from the ground up with security, efficiency and ease-of-use in mind.

I'd go even further. If I was Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, I'd close the Windows ecosystem a bit. I'd hold a summit with my top hardware vendors and say, "We're standardizing on specific hardware designs and narrowing those standards, and we're doing it for the sanity of our users. Get on board or get out of the way."

Yeah, there'd be a period of pain for Microsoft because the new won't work with the old. But if the reworked Windows benefits from simplification and a new focus, then Microsoft, the PC ecosystem and, most importantly, its users will benefit in the long run.

Think this is too far-fetched? Something Microsoft would never do? Think again.

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